Three young North Texas delegates, all under 25, share their views and reflect on their convention experience.

CLEVELAND — Connor Price, 18, remembers a few scoffs when he ran to become a delegate for the Republican National Convention.

The Argyle teen won an alternate spot. Just barely old enough to vote, the Texan realizes he's a rarity at the convention and says he's honored to represent both Denton County and young voters.

"For me, as a younger voter, I'm sick and tired of politicians," he said. "I'm sick and tired of people who say they're going to do something just to get re-elected, and then they don't."

Price is the second-youngest member of the Texas delegation and one of three young North Texas delegates, all under 25, who shared their views and reflected on their convention experience with The Dallas Morning News.

Alee Corrales, Hunt County

Corrales has attended political conventions before — her parents used to take her to Texas GOP conventions — but never as a delegate.

At 18, Corrales, an alternate, is the youngest member of the Texas delegation and is pledged to Sen. Ted Cruz. But Corrales, who is now planning to vote for Trump, was disappointed in Cruz on Wednesday.

"I thought it was a profound speech, but he picked the worst time to give it," she said. "It is too close to the election to get distracted by this debate. Law enforcement, military and pre-born lives are at stake."

But she was delighted to meet some of her other Republican role models: her congressman, John Ratcliffe; House Speaker Paul Ryan; former Gov. Rick Perry and former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell.

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"It's really neat to be around them and learn more about them," she said. "I want to be like them — so patriotic."

Corrales will attend Texas A&M-Commerce in the fall. She said she that doesn't know what the future will hold for her, but that she just wants to help people while championing conservatism.

"If I have any skills I can contribute to help defend the Constitution, I want to be there," she said.

Connor Price, Argyle

Price, a Liberty Christian Academy graduate, said that despite worries about security, protests and tension, his convention has been hassle-free.

He, too, felt let down by Cruz, whom he pledged to support.

While Cruz is a "great guy," the senator "needs to get behind the nominee," Price said.

"I really wanted to see Ted do that," he said. "However, when he didn't, I don't even really know how to put it. I was heartbroken."

Price, who will attend Baylor in the fall, said he is a fan of Trump even though Rubio was his first choice.

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He wants the party to do more youth outreach. Trump is actually a boon to that effort, he said. His school's young Republicans club grew significantly because of Trump, Price said.

Price's parents are conservative, but they never pushed their views on him. In fact, Price once considered himself more liberal in his early high school years. Now his top issues are job creation, the military and border security, which draws him to Trump.

But he remains open to all sides of any position, he said.

"I like to analyze every single view before I form my opinion," he said. "What I found with my generation is we like to analyze every little detail. We like to listen. We like to form our opinion after finding out all the facts. That's great, and that's a testament to how great this next generation coming up is."

Chris Ford, Dallas

The 24-year-old Deep Ellum resident came in pledged to Cruz, but he initially supported Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. In fact, he said, Trump, was "17 out of 17" on his list of preferences in the primary.

But the Baylor University graduate said he will support Trump and believes the businessman will win in a November upset.

Ford, the communications manager of the Dallas County Young Republicans, said Trump and the current crop of Republican leaders should focus less on social issues and more on fiscal issues — such as the national debt — to attract young voters.

"A lot of this crazy rhetoric, if we stop this, it will attract more of a modern vibe to the party," he said.

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Ford enjoyed the convention experience, especially meeting other young Republicans. But he came away frustrated with the speakers.

"We need to start talking sense. We need to start talking high-level policy," he said. "We need real actionable items. All this convention has been is high-level rhetoric."

Ford, who has an IT job, hopes to fix that one day. He said he'll "eventually want to run" for office, but has one caveat: "I'll only want to run if I can be myself."